I'm thinking of getting a new set of Mudlites on c-series rims for my 03 500i. Use the bike for trials, hunting and back woods with mud holes.
On one hand the bike has pretty good gound clearance so the more agressive tread on the 25's maybe the way to go but on the other hand more is better. Concerned about the axles breaking with the 27's.
What do you think?

 

Anybody?

 

Personally I wouldn't go bigger than the 26's. The 26's have the deep tread too.

REV

 

Hey oldcrow,
I am also buying tires for 02 500i with C-series rims. I think the 26 inch tires would be the right choice. But I heard that the mudlites wear down fast, so I'm thinking about the Mud Bug tire or the Gator tire which lasts longer.

 

yea i would go wit gators mud bugs or dirt devils xt

 

I think 26's would be the way to go. Arctic Cat offers a 26" tire in the accessories book so if you did have axle problems can't see them giving you much of a problem. Shouldn't notice as much of a power loss.
I don't know how hard the rubber compound is but I believe wear is contributed to how much you run down the tar roads (which I have the luxury of not having to do much of).
I'm getting closer.
Thanks for your input.

 

If I was going to have one set of tires, I guess maybe 26", but if you will have your stockers too, I would go with the 27's. I've always had 2 sets to go with and switch out at my leisure. The 27" Claws I had on my AC500, and I kept them when I sold it. Got new rims, and now have the crap stock Grizzly tires along with the 27's. I would think the weight would put more stress on the axles than the diameter myself. Mudlite are supposed to weigh a lot less, and if you can't put a 27" tire on an AC without worrying about snapping an axle, then they have some problems they need to address. Never had any problems with my 500. Blew out one CV joint in a massive mudhole with it, but I attribute that to the lift kit. Made the angles extremely steep for the front end.

As far as tire wear is concerned, if the Mudlites don't wear good, you can look at it 2 ways. They are a lot cheaper than all of the other mud tires, so there is one aspect. Do you buy them at a cheaper price and have them wear out sooner or do you cough up a few more bucks and get something that has better tread life? Who knows, but a lot of people seem to like the mudlites. I love the Claws, but they aren't the best dirt trail tire. Like to dig if the ground is dry and loose. They are unstoppable in the mud though. Mudlites look like a good intermediate mud tire. Meaning something that doesn't do the best at either, but does damn good at both. Same for Mudrunners, Mudbugs, and few others.

My vote goes with 27, but I'm on the optimistic side that says you aren't going to snap an axle with it. The tire itself wont' snap the axle, its what you do with it. Get some major mud tire in some thick mortar looking mud where it won't break traction, but won't go forward and something's got to give. Normally your axle. Its like the principle of cranking up your wheel in a gigantic vice and then gunning the throttle. Snappo!

 

I think for those who know me can guess what im going to say.

Yep thats right go with the 27 or even 28. if i had it all to do over again i would go with 28 10 12 all the way around in the mudlites. I love mine! Check out some of my pics to see what they are able to do,but then again 90 percent of it is RIDER!!! LOL

good luck

Cat

 

I just finished looking into tires, in both 26 and 27" sizes. I looked at 26X10's front, 26X12 rear, on 12" rims, here's what I found
Bearclaws: 26X9 (2) and 26X12 (2), TOTAL weight of all four tires is 115 pounds ( Can't get 10" claws)
Dirt Devils: 26X10 (2) and 26X12 (2) TOTAL weight of 4 tires is 106 pounds
Mudlights: 26X10 (2) and 26X12 (2) TOTAL weight of 4 tires is 98 pounds

For 27" tires, it stacked up like this:

Bearclaws, total weightof 4 27" tires, 10's on the front, 12's on the rear is: 108 pounds
Dirt Devils, total weight , same sizes as above is: 116 pounds
Mudlights, total weight, same sizes as above is : 98 pounds

I got all tire weights off of the highlifter site, tire spec chart. So seems to me, that by going with the 27's, you gain more height with very little gain in weight.

 

I just got 27x10 and 27x12 Mud Bugs for my 650 and they weigh 106lbs for all 4. 24.4 front and 28.6 rear. They are awesome!!!